Machine for coating pills with gelatine



( No Model.)

W. O. FRANGISGUS.

MACHINE FOR COATING PILLS WITH GELATINE.

Patented Apr.Z-4,1883.

Interior,

' Witnesses.

Zm.% mew.

. Attorneys.

N. PEIERS. Pmm-ulho n im. Wamingwn, D. c.

UNITED "STATE PATENT OFFicn.

' WILLIAM G. FRANOISUUS, LOCK HAVEN, PENNSYLVANIA.

MACHINE FOR COATING PILLS 'WITH GELATINE. V

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters PatentNov 276,385, dated April 24,1883.

Application filed February19,1883. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WM. 0. FRANCISCUS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Lock Haven, in the county of Clinton and State ofPennsylvania, haveinvented certain new and useful ImprovementsinMachines for Coating Pills with Gelatine; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinventiou,reference being'had to the accompanying drawings, which form part ofthis specification, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective. Fig. 2 is avertical elevation of portion or detail of strippingplate.

My invention has relation to machines for coating pills with gelatine orother substances, and has for its object the provision of means forconveniently handling the pills after their formation and during thecoating operation, and to accelerate their drying after they have beenso coated.

My invention consists in the provision of a suitable trough having cupsor pockets for the reception of the pills, a bar provided with needlesto pick the pills up out of the trough and dip them into the 'gelatinebath, a strippingbar for removing the pills from the needles, and aremovable drawer for the reception of {)he pills after their removalfrom said needle- Referring to the accompanying drawings, A representsablock formingthe base upon which the various parts of the apparatus arefixed.

B is a plate of metal or other suitable material, fixed upon the top ofsaid block.

0 is a trough having a number of concave indentations 'formed in itsbottom, in which the pills rest.

D is arod having needles d d,equal in number to the pockets in thetrough 0.

Upon an upright, c, at the center of the rod D, is a handle, E, securedthereupon by anut, f. The handle fits looselynpon the upright, so thatwhen the handle is held in the hand the needle-rod may be revolvedaround, the handle acting as the pivotal point.

At each end of the rod D is a ball, F, having a hole through it, and ateach end of the trough O is an upright, 0, provided with a shoulder, 0.The needle-rod is placed down upon the uprights c. The shoulders on thesame will prevent the needles from touching the bottoms of the pocketsin the trough C.

Alongside of the plate B the block A has a trough cut in it for thereception ofa drawer, G,at either end of which are laterally-projectinghandles 9 g, that fit in slots h h in the end cut orinjured by contactwith the edges of the slot.

The operation of inyinven-tion is as follows: The pills, having beenformed in the usual manner, are placed in the pockets in the bottom ofthe trough O. The needle-rod is then placed in position, with thestandards 0 projecting through the holesin the ends of the same. The rodis then pressed down and the pills are impaled upon thepoints of theneedles. The rod is then removed and the pills are dipped into abath ofgelatiue or other substance with which they are to be coated. The rod isthen spun around upon the handle until the coating becomes dry, thedrying being greatly facilitated by the rapid movement of the pillsthrough the air. When the pills are dried sufiiciently they are removedfrom the needles by placing the latter in the slots in plate H anddrawing them out through said slots, the pills falling down into thedrawer, from whence they are removed at pleasure.

The advantages of my invention are that the pills are picked up withoutinjury on the points of the needles, and can be dipped into thecoating-bath and removed therefrom without soiling the hands or wastingthe fluid in the bath. The needle-rod being adapted to be revolvedrapidly, the pills are dried rapidly and effectually, and aresubsequentlyremoved from the rod with ease and dispatch, and arereceived in a convenient receptacle, from which they can be removed atpleasure.

While I have described and shown a needlerod having a handle at itscenter, upon which the rod is pivoted, I do not limit myself to suchconstruction, as the handle maybe placed on one end of the rod and acrank formed or attached to the other end, by means of which the rod maybe made to revolve, as shown.

What I claim as my invention is as follows:

1. In an apparatus for coating pills, arod having needles for thereception of the pills, and a loose handle upon which said rod may berevolved,'snbstantially as described.

2. The combination of trough 0, having indentations at its bottom, withrods D, having needles d 07, substantially as and for the purposedescribed.

3. The combination of trough O, needle-rod WILLIAM G. FRANGISG US.

Witnesses:

M. D. CoNNoLLY, LISLE STOKES.

